A little late, but I believe the DDS and DMD are related only to individual state requirements. In Massachussets and Pennsylvania, graduates of all the dental schools in those states earn the DMD; in New York, all dental school graduates have the DDS conferred. Licensing, however, does not depend on which degree was awarded--they are equivalent and differ in name only.
I suppose many will consider Doctor of Dental Medicine as having more "prestige" than Doctor of Dental Surgery, but holders of
either degree have the same training.